Silas shook his head, feeling unusually alert. His vision had sharpened dramatically. Though he'd never been nearsighted, he could now spot a fly crawling on the windowpane across the room.
"Did it work?" Silas muttered, excitement rising.
Eager to test his new abilities, he approached the wall, placed his right hand on it, and took a deep breath. His left hand followed, and he began climbing upward.
"Cool!" Silas grinned. He scaled the wall effortlessly, sticking like a spider.
Back on the ground, he dressed and reached for the doorknob. With a light tug, it came off in his hand.
"Damn it, forgot about that," Silas cursed. Like Peter in the early Spider-Man days, he hadn't yet mastered his enhanced strength.
"Guess I need practice," he thought. With a mental command, two Shadow Ninjas emerged from the darkness, their crimson eyes glowing.
"Fix the doorknob," Silas ordered, pointing to the toolbox under his bed. "Tools are there."
The ninjas nodded, retrieved the toolbox, and began repairs.
As Silas stepped out, he heard Uncle Ben's voice. "My God, Peter, what did you do?"
Rushing to the bathroom, Silas saw Peter standing by a broken faucet, water spraying everywhere. Ben was grabbing tools to fix it.
"Sorry, Uncle Ben, I don't know what happened," Peter stammered. He'd only meant to turn on the faucet to wash up, but a light twist had snapped it off.
"Silas, take Peter downstairs to wash up and eat breakfast. You'll be late otherwise. I'll handle this," Ben said, noticing Silas at the door.
"Got it, Uncle Ben," Silas replied, shooting Peter a look. Peter hurried out.
While washing up, Silas carefully controlled his strength to avoid breaking another faucet.
After breakfast, the brothers prepared to leave.
"Peter, your glasses!" Aunt May called, holding out his specs.
"Thanks, Aunt May," Peter said, taking them but not putting them on. That morning, he'd tried wearing them, but everything was blurry. Without them, his vision was crystal clear—had his eyesight healed?
On the Street
"Hurry, the bus is here!" Peter shouted, spotting it at the stop ahead.
Instinctively, he sprinted at full speed. "Hey, wait!"
"So fast!" Silas marveled, watching Peter's speed. To avoid standing out, he restrained his own pace, running just fast enough to keep up without looking superhuman.
The bus driver glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Peter closing in. Stunned, he didn't react until Peter reached the bus, shouting from the right side.
The driver slammed on the brakes, jolting the passengers forward, some nearly falling.
"What the hell's going on?" one passenger yelled.
"That's dangerous, you know!" another snapped.
Ignoring them, the driver opened the door. "How'd you do that?" he asked Peter.
"Thanks! My brother's still behind me," Peter said, offering an awkward smile.
Moments later, Silas jogged up, feigning exhaustion. "Huff… puff…"
Peter, thrilled Silas made it, noticed the bus go quiet. Every passenger was staring at him. Silas kept his head down, staying behind Peter.
Peter gave an apologetic look to the crowd, then led Silas to a seat. He spotted Liz Allan, but she only glanced at him before turning back to the window.
"Bro, how'd you run so fast?" Silas whispered, feigning shock.
Peter shook his head, confused. "I don't know."
At school, they headed to their classrooms.
"You're not late? Unbelievable. Must be a sunny day," Missy teased from behind Silas.
Silas shrugged. "Could turn cloudy, you never know."
"No way," Missy said, glancing at the clear blue sky outside.
Meanwhile
Peter couldn't focus all morning, staring at his hands, lost in thought. At lunch, Ned snapped him out of it.
"Hey, man, what's up? I've never seen you zone out in class," Ned said, nudging him.
Peter blinked. "Huh?"
"Forget it, let's eat," Ned said, changing the subject.
In the cafeteria, Peter carried his tray, looking for a seat with Ned.
Suddenly, a strange sensation flashed through his mind. He sidestepped instinctively.
Crash!
"Ow!" Thompson hit the floor, his tray's contents spilling all over him.
The noise drew every student's attention.
Thompson had meant to shoulder-check Peter, but Peter's dodge sent him crashing, food splattering everywhere.
"Oh my God!" Ned gasped, covering his mouth.
Peter was just as shocked. What just happened?
"Damn it!" Thompson pounded the floor, standing up and pointing at Peter. "You trying to die?"
"Before that, maybe clean up?" Ned suggested, eyeing the mess on Thompson's clothes.
Thompson glared at his stained shirt, shot Peter a venomous look, and stormed out.
"That dodge was awesome, Peter!" Ned exclaimed once Thompson was gone.
"I… don't know how I did it," Peter admitted, hurrying Ned to a seat to escape the staring crowd.
In the Hallway
Peter checked the camera in his locker, a gift from Silas, and put it back carefully.
"Peter Parker!" Thompson roared, storming toward him.
Peter, startled, slammed his locker shut. "W-What's wrong?"
"You made a fool of me!" Thompson swung a punch.
To Peter, the fist seemed to move in slow motion. He dodged backward, and Thompson's punch slammed into the iron locker.
"Ow!" Thompson yelped, clutching his hand.
"Get him!"
"Punch him back!"
"Whoa!"
The commotion drew a crowd, making them the center of attention.
"Listen, Thompson—" Peter tried to explain.
Thompson threw another punch. Peter leaned back, dodging easily. Thompson swung again and again, but couldn't land a hit.
As Thompson hesitated, confused, Peter flipped backward, his foot accidentally catching Thompson's chin, sending him sprawling.
"Holy crap!" the crowd buzzed. No one expected scrawny Peter Parker to take down Thompson.
"Is that your brother? He's got moves," Missy said to Silas.
Silas nodded. "Yup. He's been holding back."
He and Missy had been heading to class when the commotion caught their attention.
But then, a teacher arrived.